With a little help from a friend...

I barely made the deadline to apply for a hunting license.

By barely, I mean 30 minutes before the clock struck midnight barely. My friend Kennie called and said, "Just calling to remind you today is the last day to apply for a license". Say WHAT?! I guess I figured I would be getting an email, phone call or I'd see it in the paper.

Apparently the DOW doesn't advertise things like that.

I have no idea what season I applied for but I do know I applied for an Elk tag because Kennie told me I did. :)

After I submitted the application J said, "Well, what will you shoot?" I replied, "My 22. The same gun I go prairie dog shooting with." He laughed. Apparently you need a bigger gun to kill an Elk.

Whatever.

Don't worry, I'm being honest with myself. The chances of getting picked in the draw are slim to none. If I do get lucky and actually get a license the chances of seeing an Elk are even more slim. Let's take this even further and say that even if I get a tag and see an Elk the likelihood of being able to actually pull the trigger.... you get the picture.

I figure if I do get lucky, but don't get see and catch shoot an Elk I'll get one heckuva workout hiking those mountains, it's a win-win!

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This post has been sitting as a DRAFT in my Blogger Dashboard for months. I don't know what I was waiting for to hit PUBLISH, but since writing the first half I've received the Draw Results.

Drumroll, please.

I was successful in the Big Game Limited License Draw Results! I have no idea what the hell that means, but I know I got an Elk tag! I also know it's a private land tag so this means I can sit in our "backyard" and wait for an Elk to come to me. Hopefully.

NO HIKING REQUIRED!

Ladies and gents, be sure to wear your hunter orange this season because this city girl is a-goin' huntin!

Still dreaming big...

You can read about my first steps before applying for an Elk tag by taking my Hunter Safety class  here and here. There is a gun wound involved. ;)

Dreaming Big and Passing the Test. Part #2

You can read Part #1 of this story here.

Class three and four of Hunter Education we focused on animal identification and survival. Let's just say I have some studying to do. I'll admit I don't know the difference between elk, deer, and doe but in my defense they sure do look alike.

We took a quiz on animal identification. If it was graded I would have failed and here are a few reasons why.

I thought a pronghorn was a gazelle. 



Pronghorn



Gazelle

 I thought a moose was a caribou.

Moose

Caribou

I mistook a Collard Lizard for a Gecko. I blame the Geico commercials.

Collared Lizard

The famous Geico Gecko

The list, as you can imagine, goes on and on, but let's talk about something I did right.
I'm proud to report that I DID identify a jackrabbit, lynx and a prairie dog correctly.  :) Redemption!

Shooting range day I totally rocked ("rocked" meaning I didn't shoot my own foot) and the day prior I only missed 3 out of 50 questions on the final test. So, yes I passed the test. Now I can say that I'm armed and dangerous and mean it! You scared yet?

Here is a picture of my target from shooting range day.

If you look closely there are 13 bullet holes in my target.

Here is the problem...I was only given 10 bullets.

Where those extra holes came from I have no idea but I'm thinking someone in my class needs to practice a bit more. Oh, and by the way I'm ONLY claiming the targets that have red arrows pointing at them.

There is some comfort in knowing I wasn't the absolute worst. Thank you classmate!

In all seriousness I am glad I took the course. I learned a lot about gun safety, hunter safety and survival like how to build a campfire (and how not to panic when lost in the woods) and I'm feeling more comfortable around guns already. Hunting and gun safety is important and I will practice all I have learned.

Still haven't decided what hunting license I'll apply for I think I need to work on my animal identification first. Of course, there is the option of going with someone that knows what they are doing that way they can just tell me when and where to shoot since I'm sure I would mistake a horse for an elk. Apparently that does happen.

Who knows...this might be me in the future:

Source: www.elkmountainoutfittersllc.com

Dream big, right?!

I walked away from this class smarter about guns, with an orange hunting whistle, a compass, a minor gun (shot) wound and some gun confidence.

All in all I think it was a success! Watch out hunting world here I come!

Since writing this post I have applied for a hunting license. I'll be blogging about that soon. 

Stay tuned this week - I have a fun announcement!